US banks have steered clear of public comments on this issue. In private, many executives have complained that the FDIC’s drive to replenish the fund would drain much-needed resources from banks just as they are trying to rebound from the financial crisis.

It’s as if they don’t remember what happened the last time there was a bank crisis without an FDIC. I find it hard to believe that someone would actually want the FDIC to run dry, but then, that would be the unfettered capitalism that libertarians and the like are always looking for. They can’t be serious about this, can they? The reason there was not a run on the banks was because people were sure their money was safe; without the FDIC, the likelihood of a bank run would have been quite high in September 2008.

To put it simply, without government intervention into markets, the markets would have collapsed. So pony up and pay the FDIC already, banks.